The VVOB School Management programme started its activities in Rwanda in 2003. Primarily, the programme was implemented in 12 pilot schools in close collaboration with the General Inspectorate of Education at regional and national level. The main objective was to improve the quality of education by enhancing the management of schools.
Five members of the school management of all secondary schools in Rwanda received training in School Management and ICT: the directors, the adjuncts of the director, the bookkeepers, the secretaries and the pedagogues. Once they received the training, the School Management Team applied the good principles of School Management in their respective establishments. Evaluation sheets enabled them - as well as the project team - to evaluate the progress on a permanent base.
Gradually, the programme included other partners in its policies and strategies. The number of pilot schools increased. Seminars were organised to bring the directors of the pilot schools together and to let them share their good and bad experiences with each other. They elaborated the basis for the first modules by describing and defining the tasks and responsibilities of each management function. This unique experience was repeated for the other members of the management team as well. Subsequently, directives were designed in close collaboration with the General Inspectorate of Education and with other education services of the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC).
In 2010, the modules on School Planning, Financial Management, Pedagogic Principles and Crosscutting Themes (gender, environment,...) have been revised. The approaches of the consultants of MINEDUC have been integrated, so that the documents represent a tailor-made instrument and functional guide for every day school management in Rwanda. What is new is that the educational managers, the inspectors of the districts and the representatives of the parents are included in the process as well.
Carla Bracke
Programme Officer, VVOB Head Office, Belgium
Cathy Van Even
School Management Coordinator, VVOB Rwanda
